Cooleysandberg6984

Cardiac mechanical function is supported by ATP hydrolysis, which provides the chemical-free energy to drive the molecular processes underlying cardiac pumping. Physiological rates of myocardial ATP consumption require the heart to resynthesize its entire ATP pool several times per minute. In the failing heart, cardiomyocyte metabolic dysfunction leads to a reduction in the capacity for ATP synthesis and associated free energy to drive cellular processes. Yet it remains unclear if and how metabolic/energetic dysfunction that occurs during heart failure affects mechanical function of the heart. We hypothesize that changes in phosphate metabolite concentrations (ATP, ADP, inorganic phosphate) that are associated with decompensation and failure have direct roles in impeding contractile function of the myocardium in heart failure, contributing to the whole-body phenotype. To test this hypothesis, a transverse aortic constriction (TAC) rat model of pressure overload, hypertrophy, and decompensation was used to assess relationships between metrics of whole-organ pump function and myocardial energetic state. A multiscale computational model of cardiac mechanoenergetic coupling was used to identify and quantify the contribution of metabolic dysfunction to observed mechanical dysfunction. Results show an overall reduction in capacity for oxidative ATP synthesis fueled by either fatty acid or carbohydrate substrates as well as a reduction in total levels of adenine nucleotides and creatine in myocardium from TAC animals compared to sham-operated controls. Changes in phosphate metabolite levels in the TAC rats are correlated with impaired mechanical function, consistent with the overall hypothesis. Furthermore, computational analysis of myocardial metabolism and contractile dynamics predicts that increased levels of inorganic phosphate in TAC compared to control animals kinetically impair the myosin ATPase crossbridge cycle in decompensated hypertrophy/heart failure.We report two methods to create zinc-sponge electrodes that suppress dendrite formation and shape change for rechargeable zinc batteries. Both methods are characterized by creating a paste made of zinc particles, organic porogen, and viscosity-enhancing agent that is heated under an inert gas and then air. During heating under the inert gas, the zinc particles anneal together, and the porogen decomposes; under air, the zinc fuses and residual organic burns out, yielding an open-cell metal foam or sponge. We tune the mechanical and electrochemical properties of the zinc sponges by varying zinc-to-porogen mass ratio, heating time under inert gas and air, and size and shape of the zinc and porogen particles. An advantage of the reported methods is their ability to finely tune zinc-sponge architecture. The selected size and shape of the zinc and porogen particles influence the morphology of the pore structure. A limitation is that resulting sponges have disordered pore structures that result in low mechanical strength at low volume fractions of zinc ( less then 30%). Applications for these zinc-sponge electrodes include batteries for grid-storage, personal electronics, electric vehicles, and electric aviation. Users can expect zinc-sponge electrodes to cycle up to 40% depth of discharge at technologically relevant rates and areal capacities without the formation of separator-piercing dendrites.This work describes a rapid and highly sensitive method for the quantitative detection of an important biomarker, uric acid (UA), via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with a low detection limit of ~0.2 μM for multiple characteristic peaks in the fingerprint region, using a modular spectrometer. This biosensing scheme is mediated by the host-guest complexation between a macrocycle, cucurbit[7]uril (CB7), and UA, and the subsequent formation of precise plasmonic nanojunctions within the self-assembled Au NP CB7 nanoaggregates. A facile Au NP synthesis of desirable sizes for SERS substrates has also been performed based on the classical citrate-reduction approach with an option to be facilitated using a lab-built automated synthesizer. VVD-214 molecular weight This protocol can be readily extended to multiplexed detection of biomarkers in body fluids for clinical applications.Capnography is commonly used to monitor patient's ventilatory status. While sidestream capnography has been shown to provide a reliable assessment of end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2), its accuracy is commonly validated using commercial kits composed of a capnography monitor and its matching disposable nasal cannula sampling lines. The purpose of this study was to assess the compatibility and accuracy of cross-paired capnography sampling lines with a single portable bedside capnography monitor. A series of 4 bench tests were performed to evaluate the tensile strength, rise time, ETCO2 accuracy as a function of respiratory rate, and ETCO2 accuracy in the presence of supplemental O2. Each bench test was performed using specialized, validated equipment to allow for a full evaluation of sampling line performance. The 4 bench tests successfully differentiated between sampling lines from different commercial sources and suggested that due to increased rise time and decreased ETCO2 accuracy, not all nasal cannula sampling lines provide reliable clinical data when cross-paired with a commercial capnography monitor. Care should be taken to ensure that any cross-pairing of capnography monitors and disposable sampling lines is fully validated for use across respiratory rates and supplemental O2 flow rates commonly encountered in clinical settings.Keyboard input has played an essential role in human-computer interaction with a vast user base, and the keyboard design has always been one of the fundamental objects of studies on smart devices. With the development of screen technology, more precise data and indicators could be collected by smartphones to in-depth evaluate the keyboard design. The enlargement of the phone screen has led to unsatisfactory input experience and finger pain, especially for one-handed input. The input efficiency and comfort have attracted the attention of researchers and designers, and the curved keyboard with size-adjustable buttons, which roughly accorded with the physiological structure of thumbs, was proposed to optimize the one-handed usage on large-screen smartphones. However, its real effects remained ambiguous. Therefore, this protocol demonstrated a general and summarized method to evaluate the effect of curved QWERTY keyboard design on a 5-inch smartphone through a self-developed software with detailed variables, including objective behavioral data, subjective feedback, and the coordinate data of each touchpoint.